Material Engineering: Superconductors

Material Engineering
Superconductors
Abhishek Sainkar
SETB104
Block 1
S.Y.BTech E&TC
INTRODUCTION
• What are superconductors?

• Superconductors are the material having almost zero
resistivity and behave as diamagnetic below the
superconducting transiting temperature
• Superconductivity is the flow of electric current without
resistance in certain metals, alloys, and ceramics at
temperatures near absolute zero, and in some cases at
temperatures hundreds of degrees above absolute zero =
-273ºK.
DISCOVERER OF
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
• Superconductivity was first discovered in 1911 by the
Dutch physicist,Heike Kammerlingh Onnes.
AS TEMPERATURE
DECREASES,
A SUPERCONDUCTING
MATERIAL'S RESISTANCE
GRADUALLY DECREASES
UNTIL IT REACHES CRITICAL
TEMPERATURE. AT THIS
POINT RESISTANCE DROPS
OFF, OFTEN TO ZERO, AS
SHOWN IN THE GRAPH AT
RIGHT.
GENERAL PROPERTIES OF
SUPERCONDUCTORS
• Electrical resistance: Virtually zero electrical resistance.
• Effect of impurities: When impurities are added to

superconducting elements, the superconductivity is not loss
but the T is lowered.
c
• Effects of pressures and stress: certain materials exhibits

superconductivity on increasing the pressure in
superconductors, the increase in stress results in increase of
the T value.
c
• Isotope effect: The critical or transition temperature Tc value
of a superconductors is found to vary with its isotopic mass.
i.e. "the transition temperature is inversely proportional to
the square root of isotopic mass of single superconductors.”
T α 1/ ²√M
C
• Magnetic field effect: If Strong magnetic field applied to a

superconductors below its T , the superconductors
C
undergoes a transition from superconducting state to normal

state.
MEISSNER EFFECT
THE COMPLETE EXPULSION OF ALL MAGNETIC
FIELD BY A SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIAL IS
CALLED “MEISSNER EFFECT”
• Normal state: T > Tc

• Superconducting state : T < Tc
• The Meissner effect is a distinct
characteristics of a
superconducting from a normal
perfect conductor. In addition,
this effect is exhibited by the
superconducting materials only
when the applied field is less
then the critical field Hc.
CRITICAL TEMPERATURE
• The temperature at which a material
electrical resistivity drops to Metal Critical
T(K)
absolute zero is called the Critical
Temperature or Transition
Temperature. Aluminum 1.2K
Tin 3.7K
• Below critical temperature, material
Mercury 4.2K
is said to be in superconducting and
Niobium 9.3K
above this it is said to in normal
Niobium-Tin 17.9K
state. Below this temperature the
superconductors also exhibits a
Tl-Ba-Cu-oxide 125K
variety of several astonishing
magnetic and electrical properties.
TYPES OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
• TYPE I • TYPE II
• Soft superconductors are those • Hard superconductors are those
which can tolerate impurities which cannot tolerate impurities,
without affecting the i.e., the impurity affects the
superconducting properties. superconducting property
• Also called SOFT • Also called HARD
SUPERCONDUCTORS. SUPERCONDUCTORS.
• Critical field value is very low. • Critical field value is very high.
• Exhibits perfect and complete • Don’t exhibit perfect and complete
Meissner effect. Meissner effect.
• The current flows through the
• It is found that current flows
surface only.
throughout the material.
• These materials have limited
• These materials have wider
technical applications because of very
technology of very high field
low field strength value
strength value.
• .e.g :-Pb,Hg,Zn,etc.
• e.g. Nb3Ge, Nb3Si
TYPES OF SUPERCONDUCTORS
TYPE 1 TYPE 2
HIGH TC SUPERCONDUCTORS
LOW TC SUPERCONDUCTORS HIGH TC SUPERCONDUCTORS
• Superconductors that require • Superconductors having their Tc

liquid helium coolant are called values above the temperature of
low temperature liquid nitrogen (77K) are called
superconductors. the high temperature
• Liquid helium temperature is superconductors.
4.2K above absolute zero
• Maglev trains: APPLICATIONS
• Based on two techniques: MAGLEV
1)Electromagnetic suspension
2)Electrodynamic suspension
VEHICLES
• In EMS, the electromagnets
installed on the train bogies attract
the iron rails. The magnets wrap
around the iron & the attractive
upward force is lift the train.
• In EDS levitation is achieved by
creating a repulsive force between
the train and guide ways.
• The basic idea of this is to levitate
it with magnetic fields so that there
is no physical contact between the
trains and guideways.
Consequently the maglev train can
travel at high speed of 500 km/h.
APPLICATION OF
SUPERCONDUCTORS
• The production of sensitive magnetometers based
on SQUIDs
.
• Powerful superconducting electromagnets used
in maglev trains, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
and Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) machines,
magnetic confinement fusion reactors (e.g. tokomaks),
and the beam-steering and focusing magnets used in
particle accelerators.
• Superconducting generators has the benefit of small
size and low energy consumption than the conventional
generators.
• Very fast and accurate computers can be constructed
using superconductors and the power consumption is
also very low. Superconductors can be used to transmit
electrical power over very long distances without any
power or any voltage drop
Examples:
1)Elemental Superconductor:
Hg=4.15k, Pb=7.19k
2) Compound Superconductor
Nb3Al=19k, Nb3Ge= 23k
3) Ceramic Superconductor
HgBa2Ca2Cu2o8=133k, Ti2Ba2Ca2Cu2O11=125k
THANK YOU!

Material Engineering: Superconductors

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Material Engineering: Superconductors

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Material Engineering

• What are superconductors?

• Electrical resistance: Virtually zero electrical resistance.

• Effect of impurities: When impurities are added to

• Effects of pressures and stress: certain materials exhibits

• Magnetic field effect: If Strong magnetic field applied to a

undergoes a transition from superconducting state to normal

• Normal state: T > Tc

LOW TC SUPERCONDUCTORS HIGH TC SUPERCONDUCTORS

• Superconductors that require • Superconductors having their Tc

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